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CAPITAL ONE ORANGE BOWL: MIAMI VS WISCONSIN

December 27, 2017

Michael Deiter

Miami Gardens, Florida

Q. Kind of looking ahead past the bowl, not about your future, but young guys that you see on the line, some guys who maybe have caught your eye this year that might be called upon next year.
MICHAEL DEITER: I think Cole is doing a really good job. I think he's a guy who obviously we trusted this year to go play that extra tight end spot when Zander went down, and I think he's doing really well at left tackle. I think that could be his position. I think he could start games for us this year and then for sure next year. I also think Bruss is playing really well. Obviously he hasn't got a ton of time with going against the ones, stuff like that, so it'll be interesting to see how he does. But I think he's smart, he's pretty athletic, and overall I think he'll be a good player.

I would say those are the two that really stick out in my head that probably are ready to take over.

Q. As far as the game, Joe was talking about Miami's front, and now that you've really had some time to study them, I think they tend to get a lot of pressure. Who are some of the people that jump out that you really have to be aware of?
MICHAEL DEITER: I would say No. 80 and No. 9. All of them are athletic, fast, very physical, especially the linebackers. They don't think twice about what they see. They go attack, and they play the game the right way. But the only reason they can get pressure is because they're athletic. They have good technique. All that stuff. And it's other guys, 99 can rush the passer well, 7. Their whole defensive front can really get after the passer, yeah. But they're also stout in the run, very physical, all that stuff. It'll be fun.

Q. What's it been like blocking for Jonathan this year?
MICHAEL DEITER: It's been awesome. It's been a treat. He's the type of guy that sometimes your fit is not always the best, but he'll make you right, and that's always nice to have something like that. It's just been a special year, and that kid has got a bright future.

Q. In terms of maturity, being a freshman coming in right off the bat just kind of taking over the offense --
MICHAEL DEITER: Yeah, he's played way older than he is. It's just kind of the person he is. In fall camp he was playing like he is right now. It'll be interesting to see where he goes from here, if this is where he starts, but he's such a mature kid. He's put balls on the ground. He's had some problems with fumbling, but he moves on. He doesn't sulk kind of. He makes plays when he does stuff like that, and it's just nice to see a freshman come in and have such a mature mindset.

Q. When you say he has a bright future, what do you think he can do next year based on what he's been able to do this year?
MICHAEL DEITER: I think he's more than capable of doing anything you ask him to do on the football field. But if he needs to be used in the pass game, he can. What he does with stuff like that next year, I don't know. I just think he's got the potential to be the best running back next year and the year after that in college football. I think he's got that talent, and it's just up to him.

Q. When you looked at film of Miami, did you just look at the Clemson game, or do you look at others?
MICHAEL DEITER: I've watched the Florida State game, Clemson. I've watched the Florida State game from last year. Just teams that run similar pro-style offenses to us. I think those are our best games to get what Miami wants to do against that style of offense. So I've watched those. The Clemson game I've watched a couple times. That's a good game. But mostly Florida State, Clemson, and Pittsburgh have been our best games to watch.

Q. Because it seems like if you look at some of their games, their defense has performed really, really at a high level, and other games, the Clemson game, they had a tough night. So what do you see when you look at that?
MICHAEL DEITER: It's just -- well, it's football. Some nights it's on, sometimes it's not. It's just kind of how the sport goes. But regardless of how they do, they're still physical, very athletic, and they're usually making big plays. They've got the turnover chain and all that stuff, big-time turnover defense, and they're very talented. There's no denying that.

But we know it'll be a challenge. They'll be playing their best for us, and we've both had a ton of time to prep for one another, so it should be a very, very good game.

Q. What do you think of the turnover chain?
MICHAEL DEITER: I think it's cool, honestly. I mean, I think that's cool. I think it is something that you should glorify. I think turnovers are a big deal. For a defense, that changes games. So to put that kind of weight on it and all that, a high percentage of turnovers, I don't know if I'd call it necessary, but there's definitely some merit to putting hype around turnovers and the way that that can turn, change games.

Q. How much have you guys talked about ball security this week?
MICHAEL DEITER: The same as every other week. If you can't secure the ball, you're probably not going to win any football games. If you're a team that's struggling offensively to keep the ball in your hands, you're going to struggle with winning football games.

But sometimes you do turn the ball over and you've got to find a way as an offense to move past it and get points on the board.

Q. Do you care to make any bold predictions about how we will or will not see the turnover chain on Saturday?
MICHAEL DEITER: I won't because it's football and you never know. It can always show up, it can always not show up, you never know.

Q. Did you guys feel kind of slighted? You guys have one loss, every team in the College Football Playoff has one loss. You lost to Ohio State by six points in the Big Ten Championship game. Did you feel like you should have gotten more consideration for one of those top four spots?
MICHAEL DEITER: I don't know. I try to leave all that to the committee. I mean, I can sit here and talk a lot about a bunch of it, but at the end of the day, it's not my decision, so I don't really tend to think about it a whole bunch. But I think -- I'm just glad with the season we had, what we were able to do, and I'm proud of how we didn't get caught up in all the playoff talk, all that stuff. Would it have been nice? Yes. But we did lose, so I don't think we can sit here and be mad or anything like that. It's up to the committee. There's nothing we can do. But the best we can do is just be happy with the regular season and we fought hard in the Big Ten Championship, and that's really all we can worry about.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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